[Utrecht, The Netherlands] The International Information Office of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP-IIO) hosted a meeting on Saturday, 18 October, in Utrecht, The Netherlands to discuss the current economic, political and social situation in China and the most important impact of 30 years of Reform. Leading the discussion was Pao-yu Ching, Professor Emeritus of Economics at Marygrove College Michigan, USA, who has been specializing in the study of the Chinese economy and the concrete conditions of the Chinese people.

In the meeting, Prof. Pao-yu Ching presented a China rarely seen in the western media and educational system. Among the Chinese people, she asserted, “No one really believes anymore that China is still a socialist country.”

Referring to the Chinese economic reform — also called “socialism with Chinese characteristics” — which started in 1978, Prof. Pao-yu Ching declared: “The Reform has cost human lives and caused human suffering, wasted China’s precious resources, devastated the environment, and turned China into a neo-colony of foreign powers. China has transformed from a socialist country, which supported oppressed people all over the world, into one which is allied with the oppressors in Asia, Latin America and Africa in order to acquire resources and expand its economic and political influence.”

On the other hand, she said, “The Reform has taught the Chinese people what capitalism is really all about. Thirty years after the capitalist Reform began, the majority of workers and peasants have not only endured much suffering but also have realized that if the capitalist Reform continues, their sons, daughters and grandchildren will have no future. Progressive intellectuals have also realized that the future of China is indeed at stake. With this real life education, the Chinese people have finally understood the meaning of the two-line struggle and Mao Zedong’s warning of the return of the bourgeoisie.”

Prof. Pao-yu Ching’s presentation stimulated a lively discussion among her audience. Attending the meeting were several political refugees based in the Netherlands, political activists from Indonesia and Afghanistan, and members of communist parties and groups from the Netherlands, Germany, Greece and the UK. Also in the meeting were members of the NDFP Negotiating Panel in peace negotiations with the government of the Republic of the Philippines.

Reflecting on the sentiments of the Chinese people about the 30 years of Reform, Prof. Pao-yu Ching revealed that the forces opposing capitalist reforms have been gaining strength in the past two years. “In a letter written and signed by 170 prominent people in September 2007 and submitted to the Delegates of the upcoming 17th Congress of the Chinese Communist Party,” she said, “the signatories openly charged that power holders of the Chinese Communist Party no longer represented the interests of China’s proletariat, and that they betrayed the principles of Marxism, Leninism, and Mao Zedong Thought.”

She concluded: “though there is no doubt that the struggle for socialism in China, like elsewhere, is going to be long, hard, and treacherous, China’s socialist legacy and the theory and practice Mao Zedong left behind will carry the struggle to triumph in the end.” [NDFP-IIO]